China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has conducted a background survey on the populations and habitats of major wildlife in the central and eastern parts of Tianshan Mountains over the past year and a half.
Among the species inhabiting the surveyed picturesque areas, snow leopards, a representative species, and wild boars, the most abundant species, are the focuses of these surveys.
Data indicates that the population and density of snow leopards are relatively greater in Usu City in the central part and Hami City in the eastern part compared to those in the surrounding areas of Urumqi City.
"This is a heatmap of snow leopard habitats. The redder an area is, the more suitable it is for snow leopards to live. Areas surrounding Urumqi, where human activities are frequent and prey availability is low, show much fewer red areas," said Xiong Xingran, director of the Data Department involved in this background survey.
Regarding wild boars, with a population of 17,000, Xinjiang has launched a location monitoring pilot project as part of this survey since the animal's population expansion has led to frequent cases of injuries to people and crop destruction by wild boars.
According to relevant staff members, wild boars appear more frequently on the front side of the mountains than other species, as observed through line transect methods and infrared cameras, reflecting an improving ecological environment.
"The activity range of each wild boar is relatively fixed, and it becomes active at quite regular times, often in the morning, evening, and at night. These data provide effective scientific support for further regulation and management of the species' population," said Wang Xingzhe, deputy director of the Monitoring Department involved in this background survey.
Xinjiang launches survey on wildlife including snow leopards, wild boars
